Process for building underground structures and apparatus therefor



y 1936- RANNEY 2,048,710

PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 25, 1932 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 LEO RANNEY INVENTOR.

July 28, 1936. L, RANNEY 2,048,719,

PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS THEREFOR 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 25, 1932 LED RANNEY IXI 'IZX TOR.

L. RANNEY 2,048,710

PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND AI PARATUS THEREFOR July 28, 1936.

Filed Nov. 25,

1932 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 z/l 1/ 4 A Z l LEO RANNEY INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

July 28, 1936. L, RANNEY 2,048,710

PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 25, 1932 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 LEO RAN NEY IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

' July 28, 1936. R NNEY 2,048,710

PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 25, 1932 8Sheets-Sheet 5' LEO RANNEE 'INVENZOR.

A TTORNEYS.

July 28, 1936. RANNEY 2,048,710

PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 25, 1932. 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 LEO RANNEY INVENTOR.

, I yn/WM I A TTORNEYS.

July 28, R NE 2,048,710

PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 25, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 LEO R'AN NEY INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

L. RANNEY July 28, 1936.

PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS THEREFOR 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Nov. 25, 1932 z i i p pm 72 FIG LEO RANNEY INVEN TOR. j

ATTORNEYS.

. Patented July PROCESS FOR BUILDING UNDERGROUND STRUCTURES AND APPARATUS THERE- FOR Leo Banner, Tulsa, Okla.

Application November :5, 1032, Serial No. 044,101

- s 2 Claims. (01. s1- -s:) My invention relates to new and'useful proc-.

esses of building underground walls, foundations, supports or walled ditches, and like structures, and has for its object to materially lessen the time and cost of constructing the same. My

processes also make it possible to use a plastic material such as clay, for building a wall for the purpose of holding water, oil or gas or retarding its percolation in the ground, or to use a liquid asphalt or oil or a. cheap mixture of low cement content in building such a wall, or a supersaturated solution of calcium carbonate or water glass solution or other minerals or salts as a cementing medium or any other medium which can beintroduced and mixed in a fluid or powdered form with other material such as earth material and which will then harden, coagulate or congeal by cooling or setting or being sub- Jected to a chemical reagent to solidify or bind the mass of the admixture. One of the chief features of the processes is the simultaneous excavating of the earth and the building of the hard earth, clay,- soil, sand, gravel, quicksand,

soft mud and the like.

with the above and other obiects in view? which will appear as the description proceeds,

. my invention consists in the novel features hereinafter set forth in detail, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 7

Referring to the drawings in which numerals or like character designate similar parts throughout the severalyiews; there are two groups of drawings, one group, comprising Figures 1 to 22 inclusive and Figures 2'7 and 28 and Figures'31 to 35 inclusive relating to my rotary drill, cutting tool and conveyer type of apparatus, and the other group comprising Figures 23 to27 inclusive and Figures 29 and 30, concerning'my belt form of cutting tool and conveyer type of apparatus which is more generally adapted to use in building walls in hard earth material than is my rotary form of equipment. Dealing with the first group: Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of my rotary apparatus above mentioned, indicated as being mounted on a heavy tractor ,or other movable structure, said apparatus consisting of two coacting rotary drill, cutting and conveyer screws, with drill bits thereon, which .will hereinafter be referred to generally as rotary pipes whether the same is operated for boring, cutting laterally, or .5 for conveying, and which sai'd rotary pipes are suspended from a gear case which in turn is hung fromblocks on a derrick, with'a rotary table superimposed on said structure and having therein adrill stem which itself is suspendedbyl a swivel socket from a block held on a super structure above the rotary table, andshowing a chain drive to said rotary table, afluid hose connection into the rotary pipes and cables with which to raise or lower the drill stem' and gear 15 case. The apparatus permits of-lthe use of only one rotary pipe when desired;

Fig. 2-is a view in side'elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view in transverse cross section of the rotary pipe head into which the! fluid may 20 be injected to be transmitted to the rotary pipes.

Fig. 4 is a view in transverse cross section of the gear case and gears therein and the antigyratory locking member for said case and rotary pipes.

25 Fig. 5 is a view partially in elevation and partly in longitudinal cross section, of a-pair of joints of the rotary pipe, showing the yoke holding'the 7 pair together;

Hs.6isaviewofthesameonlineA-Aof o' Fig. I is a view inside elevation of the same but also disclosing a shield, or partition plate or semi-partition plate, or guard plate, or one ofthe' mixing means or one of the elevating means, said 35 member having a number of different uses, and which said member, for the sake of brevity will hereafter be referred to generally as a shield, with said shield located to the rear of said rotary pipes. Fig. 8 is a view in cross section 'of one of the sections of saidshield on line B- -B of Fig. 9; Q

Fig. 9 is a view thereof in cross section on line 0-0 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 discloses the aforesaid yoke with A a top plan view thereof on line D-D of Fig. I, and B a view in side elevation of the same.

Fig. 11 is a view in rear elevation of said r'ot'ary' pipe, with shield thereon as in Fig. 7, but with said shield adapted to bear and bearing hinged side wings to follow in-the wake of said shield as the whole structure is advanced in operation, and showing a wall material conductor attached to the rear of the shield.

Fig. 12 is aview of the same'in cross section on line 22-21 of Figs. Hand 18.

as V

areof resilient material,

Fig. 18 is a view of the same partly in side elevation and partly in cross section on line F---1' of'Fig. 12. 7

. Fig. 14 is a view' of the same in front elevation.

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of a saw toothed worm or spiral flight as ii on line GG of Fig. 14.

Fig. 16 is a view of a lining attachment to a section of rotary pipe and shield form of appa- 'ings:

ratus shown in Fig. 11; wherein the side wings on the shield provide housings for rolls of suitable lining material, such as cloth, fabric or.paper treated as may be desired, with which to line the walls of the ditch being dug, preparatory to 1111- ing the ditch with the desiredwall materiaLwhich lining acts as a separatoror divider between the earth material and the wall material after the I latter has been placed in the ditch,said view section on line H-I-I of Fig. 18. V

jl'lg. l'lis a viewof'the same partlyin rear elevation and partly in cross section online I-.I of

ratus. I

V Fig. 27 is a view in cross section of-the apparatus shown in Fig. 12,,but also showing the undisturbed earth'in front 'o'f the rotary pipes and at the side thereof andf'along the ditch in the being partly in side elevation and partly in cross Fig.18.

l lg. 18 is a view of the samein cross section on line of m. liishowing also a roll of 1mm; material inplacein each or the housings in said andwi hpartof-thelining material indi-u catedasalready-beinginplace;

19; is aviewpartly in-side elevation: and

. partly-in cross section; on line K-K of Fig; 21,

91a lmodiiied form of apparatus attached to the rotaryripes-atoressimwnere reinforcing rods may be run to the bottom of the walLand also solid plate forms, such as steel or wood forms, may be run down to the bottom, of the ditchto line it preparatory to placing thewall materialtherein. j v i Fig. 20 is aview of the same in rear elevation on line L-L of 21.,

Fig. 21: is]. view of thesame in'cross section on line M-M ofFig. 19. Q r

22 is.a viewin perspective, of a'form of reinforcing rod adapted to use with said appawake of the pipes, and showing the wall matein the ditch and to the rear of the shield and its-side wings, and also showing between the two rotary pipes,.and between said pipes and said shield and side wings thereof, theearthf material; ,which been-.cut' away by the. rotary pipes, being either dry or in a liquid form as mud, the f presence of which prevents the .side from caving ,orilowing into the ditch.- Fig. 28jis a view insideperspective ofa part' sectionof the rotary'pi-peswith drill bits attached 7 to the bottom end. of the stringsof pipe and with a shield toithe rear of saidpipes'and with a tall I board hinged from said shield Ito drag on the bottom of the ditch in the wake ofthe-vbits.

Fig. 31 is aview in'cross-section of a modified Qform of shield wings suchas shown in cross sechtion in Figs 12,-wherein the wing tips or edges Fig. 32 discloses ansinnerzpipe arrangement 7 fora conveyerf pipesuch aspipe 38 shown in Fig.

its

' 12, in which said P pe 38 is closed at the'bottom .end, and an inner string of pipe run therein; with A a view in transverse cross section, B a view in "side elevation, and C a view in lon itudinal cross section, ofthe end constructioniof .said pipes.

Fig. 33 is aview in side elevation 'of a pusher device shown as attached to a pipe such as pipe 7 on line N-Noi' 29.. 1

prevent the whole rotary pipe-structure: from such as water or neat c'ement or other liquid Fig. 23 is.a view of mybelt'form of apparatus 1 as aforesaid, inside elevation.

Fig. 24 is a view thereof in rear elevation wi part of the apparatus broken away. a

Fig. 25 is a viewin side elevation oi'the drive shaft head of the belt supporting member which i. also serves as a coupling between the driving shaft and theshai't whereon the idlersprockets are held, said coupling being in the form of a pipe adapted to'conv'ey'liquid therethrough.

Fig. 26-:is-a top-plan viewottheend of the 2 shieldi'or'thebelhwith'wide wingsand tail board attached thereto. j l r r Fig.29is avtopplan view oi'a preferred form oi'-chain beltconveyer wherein plat'es. hinged" on the same pins which provide the pivots for the 2! links, are placed on or between each pair'oflinks.

Fig.' 30 is aview of the same in crosssection i indicates generally a heavy tractor with bed 4 I whereon my'structure is placed. 13 represents generally a derrick mounted on bed !,with 4 v a platform thereon holding rotary table I driven by chain drive I through power shaftfl connected with a source of power which-isnot shown.

At the topofderrick s is mounted block], 31

the same being-asheave through which'cable I 7 supports rotary drill: stemll. connected with it by swivel connection ll. Nodetails of "the various parts above mentioned areshown as the .lo and having a'sleeve ls thereon adapted to .permityof itsconnection with-one of theirotar'y pipes,.and. the other wheel havingja sleeve I] thereon adapted to permit of its connection with z the other of-said rotary pipes,-theconnection'betweenthe sleeves and the pipe being by the con- 54 ventional tool. joint. v'l'l'iesleeves mentioned are mounted on thrust bearingsljwhich are not shown but whichare of the usual type'andareadapted to sustainthe weightoi' the rotary pipes.

On the combinedggear case and-pipe head it are projections having'bifurcated arms "there! on .which slip over guide bars 'or mu my members 2 l attachedto the derrickl andwhich swinging bodily about onqthe proiected axisof the drillstemJl... V Therotary pipe-head i6 is provided with hose connection 22, and hose nthrough which fluid mixture may be forced into the;rotary. pipes through'aperturesil in saidisleeves II and I9.

'Stufling'boxes of conventional arrangement and whichare' not shown',*pack oi! said sleeves from the partition 28 which divides thergear case 7 Attached to each of the sleeves i8 and 19, are

rotary pipes made up in sections adapted to be connected together by tool joints, and also adapted to be connected to said sleeves and with the bits in the same manner, one string of rotary pipe 28 being connected into sleeve l8 and the other string of rotary pipe 21 being connected into sleeve I 9. It will be noted that with the arrangement provided the two strings will be rotated in opposite directions. On the sections of pipe comprising the strings are worms or spiral flights or vanes 28, which may also be a series of separate vanes, arranged in the desired pitch. Holes 29 in the rotary pipe permit water or cement or clay mud or other liquid mixture, to be forced-into the hole being drilled or the trench being dug, and when the use of the holes is not desired they may be plugged or pipe without holes substituted therefor. Drill bits, such as the conventional fish tail bits 30, are attached to the bottom of the strings of rotary pipe and they are also provided with holes 31 communicating with the inside of the respective string of pipe into which they may be connected.

Presuming the mounted apparatus to be moving in the direction indicated by the arrow shown in Fig. 2, to the rear of said rotary pipes is attached a shield 32 which serves a number of. uses as previously set forth, and which is made in sections corresponding to those of the rotary pipe and attachable thereto by means of a flange portion 32 thereof adapted to receive the end portion of the pipe which may be passed through holes 24 in said flange portions of the shield. Hinged to the bottom of shield 32 may be provided a tail board or hingedshield plate 32A which may follow in the wake of the drill bits 30. The two-strings of rotary pipe 26 and 21, are held together in spaced relationship and parallel with each other, by yokes 25 placed in the string of pipe at each joint thereof as shown in Figs. 5 and 7.

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 disclose another shield arrangement wherein a shield proper 36, is provided with side wings 21 hinged thereto, and which after the excavation has been connected may be run into the trench prior to starting the placement of the wall therein. The tips of the side wings may be formed of a resilient material in the nature of a flap 31A as shownin Fig. 31. Attached to the shield and to the rear thereof is a pipe 38 with perforations 39 therein through which wall material may be inserted into the ditch as it is dug. An inner pipe 38A, such as shown in Fig; 32 may be run in pipe 38 through which the wall material may be introduced into the pipe 38 at the bottom thereof when closed at the bottom as shown. may be made. with a curved plate 88 which permits pipe 38 to drag on the bottom of the ditch.

Fig. 15 shows a modified form of spiral flight 40 for the rotary pipes, in which the edges of the spiral are provided with teeth 4| to aid in cutting away the earth material. 7

In Figs. l6, l7 and 18 is shown shield 36 with side wings 43 in modified form, said wings being provided with housing 44 for rolls of lining material 45 such as a fabric or paper, for lining the side walls of the trench preparatory to filling the same with wall material. The lining material is rolled on rod 48 and inserted into thehousing on said rod and the rod seated in a thrust bearing The closure of pipe 38 r 41 in the bottom of the housing. The lining material is shown in Fig. 18 as extending through g the housing and held in place in the trench by bars 48 until the wall material has been placed in the trench against the lining material, wherer 5 upon the lining material is, of course, held in place by the wall material. Tension plates 49 loosely grip the lining material and prevent the wall material from passing into the housing.

In this group of figures is also shown a longitudinally slit pipe 50 with slot it running the length of the string of pipe and through which wall material may be conveyed into the trench.

In Figs. 19, 20 and 21 is shown'a shield such as shield 32 with pipe 62 fastened to'the rear thereof and slotted as by slot 53 with enlarged opening 54 at both ends of said slot and adapted to permit of the insertion of a cross-T 55 into the pipe through the enlarged opening at the top and to the ejection of 'the cross-T out of the pipe through the enlarged opening at the bottom of the pipe. The cross-T 56 may be either of a reinforcing bar such as bar I8, or of a connection 51 attached to a form such as a board or plate form comprising sides 58 and bottom 59 held together by bar 80 with which connection 51 is directly attached. In pipe 52 is a worm conveyor 6| with which the T 55 may be forced to the bottom of the pipe. The conveyer is also adapted to force cement or other liquid or powdered mixture through pipe I2 after it has been introduced into said pipe through head 62 into which a hose 83 or a hopper 63A is connected, or with both hose and hopper connected into the head as shown in Fig. 19. The worm I is drivenby shaft (i4 and chain and sprocket drive 65.

In Figs. 33 to 35 inclusive, a slotted pipe such as pipe 52, with worm such as worm conveyer 6| in said pipe appearing in Fig. 19, is shown. A

wheel 89 having protruding spokes, teeth or cogs 90, is held in a yoke 9| on said pipe. The cogs of the wheel are meshed with the spiral of the conveyer and protrude into the pipe through the longitudinal slot therein. The yoke 9| grasps the pipe loosely, so that the wheel may be run to the bottom'of the ditch on said pipe, and then rotated by turning the worm conveyer I. The teeth of the wheel bite into the bottom surfaceof the ditch and as the wheel is rotated by the worm the entire structure is urged forward. This arrangement serves to assist the tractor at the surface of the ground to force the rotary pipes against the front wall of the ditch. Preferably, pipe 52 is attached to shield 32 by'a web 82 so that there will be no obstructions on saidpipe on which yoke 9| may impede in traveling to the bottom. The pusher whecl may be withdrawn by reversing the direction of rotationof the con veyer 6|.

In the second group of drawings, consisting of Figs. 23 to 30 inclusive, a link belt conveyer type of apparatus is shown in which .66 represents generally a tractor or other movable structure bearing the apparatus which consists of a link belt conveyer wherein G1 is the chain and 6B the driving sprocket whichreceives its power through shaft 69 from chain'and sprocket drive 10; The conveyer has conventional digging. buckets ll thereon, and the whole is pivotallysuspended 70 I coupling 14 is hollow as if of pipe construction bewas the two sprocket wheel shaft heads,and

is provided with an inlet "and hose connection II thereto connected, wherewith liquid may beforced into the pipe part ofthe coupling member 14 and be conveyed'to the outlets 10 in fthe pipe. The belt and theficoupling may be of any desired'length by substituting various lengths of 'coupling members, and belt. A conventional lateral conveyer 11 receives "the earth material from the buckets 1| and conveys the same to one side of the ditch, while a hopper 18 and pipe 19 conveys'th'e wall material to a trough 80 hinged on the apparatus as at, M, the trough being made 1 r of a'bottom plate 3i, side plates 82 hinged there onrand a tailplate 83 also hinged thereon, the

5 bottom plate and the side plates forming a winged shield interposed between the conveyer and the wall material when the same is, placed in the ditch and 'thetail plate likewise acting as a shield for the extreme lower portion of the conveyer. The pressure of the wall material against vthe shield assists in forcing the conveyer' buckets Q against the front face of'the ditch being dug.

In; Figs. 29 and 3 are shown my preferred j form of link' belt for; the intended purpose, the same comprising sprocket chainwith links '84 joined together by pins .5. with said pins having an enlargedcent'ralportion 38 thereof extending between the two links whereof it provides the pivot'member of the'links, and with plate members 81 hinged on the enlarged center portion of the pin, andwith'said plate members at intervals carrying a digging bucket or gouge orother bit' wherewithto remove'*'*the earth material. with such .a belt conveyer the loose earth material is held between'the conveyer belt plates 81 and the front'iace of the ditch being dug and a 1 lessens the'tendency of the loosened earth to pack certain parts thereof may or may not be used,

and clog the: apparatus. It is obvious that the plates '81 could beformed to extend over the links it suchan arrangement is desired. In /practicing my invention under various conditions and to accomplish a number of purposes and attainvarious results, it is obvious that the use of the equipment 'will'also vary and that and 'ii'used' may be 'use'dfin combination with 'various otherparts of myapparatus.

Itis alsoevident'that ajvariety of wall materials and cementing or binding substances may be ,used for various purposes under diii'erent circumstances to accomplishvarious objects;

: To illustrate, presuming that it is desired to build a-wall merely to stop or retard the undergroundflow'of'water down a valley, a clay mud would be sumcient as the wall would be supported on both sides andthe clay would be impervious to the water and not subject to erosion 'except at the surface. f This would also be truein building an underground reservoir wherein 'to' storewater, oil, gas and the like, whereas if it were desiredto build a ditch wall or jetty'or'insert a-core'in an earthen dyke,'or,build a pie'na r substantialwall, suchas ofcement, would be used, :Moreover, in certain cases it would be desirable to a mixture of the earth material itself 7 with a little cement, or with oil or asphalt, molten sulphur; paraflin or other wall material, in,

which case only a part of the earth material would be removed andthat part remaining would receive the cementvor other-binding agent} In such last mentioned case the cementing orZbind-f ing .orcongealing or coagulating agent, ormix ture thereof may be forced down through the rotary pipe 2 6 andlLor either, to'the bottom my the necessary amount to the The apparatus shown inits various forms and readily lendsitselfto the practice oi when desired to do so,

cement or binder with the earth materialpalso.

closely the contour V V V I V V in the edge of thespiral flights make it possible to a and out the holes of the bits or through the holes in the rotary pipe itself, the holes beingspaced as may be desiredor pluggedor :pipe without holes used. However,;where it is desired to build a firm or solid iwallor foundation, the; walll'or s foundation material may; beinserted through the pipe 38 in backo'f the shield lay-hydraulic or air pressure or by a'conveyer screw, leaving the pipe through the holes of the-slot therein, and in some cases the fluid mixmay be inserted through an inner pipe into the bottom of the pipe ll from whence it may flow upwardly; and out of the' holes'in pipe 38, or steam may be run through the inner pipeto keep the mixsufllciently hot to preserve its liquid state as in the case where molten sulphur or paraflln is used, or the hot mixture may be conveyed through one rotary pipe 21 while the other rotary pipe is used for co'nvey-v ing the heat, such as by steam or'other hot-vapors, or gases, to themass' f the mix. 7 a

Moreover, in cases where avery substantial. I wall or foundation is desired, instead of, mixing j concrete on the surface and injecting it into the" ditch, in liquid form, a dry mix maybe delivered from a hopper into the pipe {land forced-into 26' the ditch with a worm conveyer,,the necessary, 1

water beingdelivered-into the ditchv through one of the rotary pipes 20, or, if the belt; conveyer type of apparatus is .used, the mix may 'be deliw ered from the hopper intofthe shield troughwhile 30 7 water is conveyedthrough the coupling. Fur-" 'thermore, in certaininstancescno water-for the v mix need be delivered, in asinuch as it may be 7 present in the earth in suilicient quantity to supvarious processes, andin examining the equipment; it is readily apparent'that, in addition to the matters above disclosed}, the equipmenthas L other functionsas well, In the rotary form of apparatus the" shield acts to separate earth material from wall material; also to assist thcworms the earth material, and, to assistlin mixing the oi the rotary pipe to lift to prevent the larger stones from being convcycd a into and lodging between the worms of therotary pipe; and also as a wall again'stwhich theweight of the liquid wall material: may lay press the rotary pipe cutters against the frontiacefof the ditch which is being cut. The tail board maybe used when desired to make the separationmorc complete. The wings ontheshield also a'ssistdn further separating earth'material from walli material. They also assist in creating further pressure oi the wall materialon therotary'pipe cutters as aforesaid. The resilient wing edges, tips or flaps further assist in this 'e's aect asthey follow of the side walls: ,The teeth a) cut into fairly hard earthmaterialand to,pulverize'it when desired to make it yery line for use as walln'laterial as previously m 'n V} fabric or paper lining attachment, makes it possible tostretchthe'linin'g along the side walls of' r the ditch to create a partial ortotalseparation,

between wall material and earth materialfor the purpose of preventing dilution of the wall material 1 by earthwaters or preventing loss of any part of 7 7 J the wall material; or, as inthe case of a porous fabric, to act as a strainer through which excess liquidofthe wall' mix may pass into and beabsorbed by the earth material; or; as in the case of a, material treated to make it impervious to 1"" ten-to retain t ti n i t t 1 th teriai and mixing the remainder of said earth ditch until it has congealed or set. Moreover,- the material in said space w w fl fabric itself may be treated to render it impervious p between h Particle! 01 cm to the ground water and in itself constitute the 761131; f 1 i 5 wall or a substantial'part thereof. The plate i'orm A method 0! buildml l undermund .Y .l of lining and the apparatus for placing it in the in which earth c f fl S removed 8 m ditch makes it possible to even more completely the place formerly o cup ed y t removed line the ditch for the aforesaid purposes, or get earth material is filled with wall material simul forms when desired, the equipment being adapted taneously with the removal of earth material; to place the forms even after the mix has been meanwhile Supporting y fluid P u the {R188 10 introduced into the ditch and while the same is of the excavation ahead o t e newly built wa still in liquid state; and bottom plates may likeall in one Operation, c n u and 17103193? wise be introduced as will readily appear from yr j Y the drawings. Reinforcing rods may also be, run A machine o building ran un r o down w t wall material 1 already in place wall, comprising means to elevate earth mate- 1! i th diteh, 4 rial upwardly from the path of said wall, means In the operation of the rotary type of i for supporting the unwalled trench by fluid presment aforesaid, it will be readily apparent that sure. means for keeping t de d s p ti n various practices are possible, v The 1 -111 b t may of wall material from earth material, means for so or may not be, but generally would be, used, and delivering wall material to replace an 015M 01' 2 presuming th i use, a h l i fir t a med t th the earth material removed, and means .ior opdeslred depth, and it the earth material in which crating d machincg g the operations are being performed is hard, water A method of buildini; an n r n W 11. is introduced to sufficiently soften the earth about comprising removing earth material from the 2;; the hole so that the rotary pipe with its shield P Of Said e meanwhile pp g the adand wings thereto attached,iitheiruseis desired, .l t d ed earth y fl pr ssure. 115- may be sunk in the earth. Presuming that the placi i fl y wall material and reiniorcdepth desired is to bed rock, the bits stop thereo 8 said wall material while, it is still plastic. and the structure then slowly advanced es=the --6- A method of trench excavation mn i lns 3o worms of the rotary pipe cut away and carry out removing earth material from the path of the a. portion or all, whichever may be desired, 01' the trench. o d n the Side! c e trench y t e earth material. The wall material is injected. as, pressure of a pp in fl n in the previously explained, simultaneously with the des of the trench t0 Sta-11d p y the action of digging or the ditch. The bits will drag on the "said fluid. V bed rock and clean the same so that the wall or 1 A method of trench excavation as claimed a foundation-will be'made to'rest thereon; the in claim 6, and in which a' heavy mud fluidly strings or rotary pipe raising and falling with the used.

undulations oi! thesurface of the rock formation 8. A method of trench excavation as claimed 1 with arcuate movement from the point of suspenn clai d in Which Dfl t 0 the fluid is 40 sion '01 the rotary pipe, or the whole pipe may be forced into the pores oi the undisturbed earth 4o bodily raised or lowered through the cables pro- ';adjacent to the trench. vided for that purpose. Pipe Joints and shield 9. A method of building an underground wall joints maybe removed or added to the string comprising removing earth material train the to shorten or lengthen it. path of the wall, simultaneously replacing th 5 This form of apparatus also lends itself to removed earth material with a heavy mud mix- 46 building cores or small structures as it is adapted ture and causing the water I to issue therefrom. 7

to turn on an extremely short radius. to1-, make the mixture substantially impervious to Considering now the belt conveyer type of apthe passage of ground water therethrin paratus, the sameis more adapted to digging com- 10. A method of building an underground wall so parativeiy straight ditches than to placing piers comprising simultaneously removing earth ma- 50 l '01 short walls with angles to them, and-its operaterial from the'path of the wall, filling the distion is readily apparent from the drawings and turbed space ahead of the wall with a heavy mud from what has previously been said. It too, is mixture, and forming the wall within the mudadapted to simultaneously excavate for and place fliledlspace. t underground walls 'or similar structures. It is 11. method as claimed in claim 10 and in 56 particularly adaptedto building very narrow walls which porous strata are mudded on to prevent such as walls less than a i'oot thick, {width caving, d p ndin of u s o dth i t l nk. b lt. 12. A iethod of building an underground wall cutters and convey s which y b mad y y comprising removing earth material from the narrow. Water may be jetted through the coupath of said wall and simultaneously placing- Dling to soft n th earth material which s being wall material in the path of the disturbed earth removed. 0 Providing the Water i mix material in, such a way as to create the desired 1 c l zigh mixture of earth material and wall material and leave said mixture in place for said wall, and g5 A replacement method of'bundmg an simultaneously holding the side walls of the space .5

-- derground wall comprising removing earth ma-.-.

terial in relatively small quantities and replacbetween undlsturbed earth material in the ing the same by wall material at the same time path of the Wain and the wall material by mud and while maintaining a fluid pressure on the pressure v 1 sides oi the wall trench between the newly.lald 0f bulldmgfln undergmum! 1o wall and the undisturbed earth material in the comprismg slmultaheously I B th mapath 01 the wall. terial from the path oi said wall, and placing 2. A method of building an underground wall, Wall material among the particles of remaining comprising removing part orthe earth material disturbed earth material in such a way as to u from the space to be occupied by said wall macreate vthe desired mixture with earth material (6 asclaimed in claim and wall material'and leave said mixture in place iorsaidwall. I

14. A method or building an in n m!!! wall 1:, and in wmcuthe wall 16.} methodoibuildingan underground as claimedin claiming and inwhich'a mismatearth below ground level, mainthe'material in'the' path 01- said strucsuch a condition that'structural material introduced thereinto, introducing struetural material into the loosened earth material.

' predetermined poeition. and' building the structure prdsressively.

23.;A method of trench excavation comprisingported by fluid pressure. g v

24.-A method or building an underground wall comprising removing earth material from the j path .0! said wall and simultaneously replacing cent to said structure, means for carrying struc- .tural material downward'into position, means earthmaterial removed brwall artificial pressure.

355A; machine (or building an underground structure comprising means to loosen and agitate the earth material in a fluid bath in the path of said structure to a degree which permits the introduction oi'the structural material thereinto, means to support the earth material adiai'or placingsepara'te' members oi desired shape and to desired depth within said structural ma terial after said structural material is in place.

and means for operating and advancing said machine. 7

26. A method of building an underground wall, comprising removing earth material irom the terialbeingpressedinto gressiveiy, is subject to positivecontruh I '80. A'method of building continuously and progressively. comprising ree a building of that portionoi the vwall the particular iorm placed may contact, I

disturbed earth by the actionoi said '"to and positioned at the rear s,oee,71o' i V a path or said wa'llfimeanwhile the adiaoent earth by iluid pressure; simultaneously placing the wall material and, reinioreing same while" is being laid, the reiniorcinglrma-v position beiore the wall 27, A method' oi building anundergmundwalLT.

comprising removing the, P th of said I all, meanwhile 7:

iacentearth by fluid pressure. eimultaneously-1olaying saidwall and'progres- V sivel; setting permanent forms, 'underfluld pre'se sure, toconiinejthevr allto the shape and di 28.'Am ethodoibuildinganundergr'oumiwall.le v

excavation upwardly. and simultaneously therea with'iniecting wall material and,

wall irom the a 83. A method of buildingan underground path ot the iiiling the space so a supporting fluid, stiflening .the adjacent untime Is on, and replacing said iiuidiby wall material.

34.oIn a machine for excavating a trench, series 0! buckets on an endless chain dedgned remove earth material tromthe path of the trench, and one or more designed to force streams of time bet'ea: the buckets to contact the material an elevated by thebucketm' v 4 35. In a machine Yer building an underground wall, a pair oi rotary spiral cutters veyors held in parallel spaced relationship one o to the other. means for rotating said-rotary members in onposite directions. means. 'oiada V vvancingthesameinadirectiontransversetor ehieldsecured -o, 2"

their longitude, and adetachable at said rotary members.

A machine for building an 'wall, comprising cutters and upward conveyors. j ashieldimm ediate iybaekoitheconveyoi's and 1m behind the buckets, e0"

substantially parallel thereto, shield and conveyor assembly beingmounted to swing together, means ior delivering wall material into the trench at the desired level, and means of advancing the cutter, conveyor, shield and wall material-delivery 'assembly as a unit without sub- "mflllly altbrlng their relative positions.

3'1. A-machine as claimed in 'claim 36, and side wings iorsaid shield.

38. A machine as claimed in claim 86, side wings for said shield and resilient flaps on the edges of said wings.

39. A machine as claimed in claim 36, and in,

which the wall-material delivery means is a tube with desired openings.

40. A machine as claimed in claim 36, and in which the wall-material delivery means comprises a tube within a tube with desired openings in each of said tubes.

41. A- machine as claimed in claim 36, and in which the wall-material delivery means comprises one or more tubes with openings. and

means for forcing wall material therethru.

42. A machine as claimed in claim 36, and means of holding and unrolling a flexible cover for the sides of the wall.

43. A machine as claimed in claim 36, and means of inserting reinforcing rods into said wall material after thesame is in place.

44. A machine as claimed in claim 36, and means oi placing a still cover on the sides of said wall alter the wall material isin place, so as to prevent the deforming of said wall in soft earth formations.

45. In a machine for building an underground wall, a pair oi rotary pipe spiral cutters and conveyors held in parallel spaced relationship one to the other, means of rotating said rotary pipes in opposite directions, means of advancing the same in a direction transverse of their longitude, a plurality of holes in one oi said rotary pipes, a rotary pipe head to said rotary pipe, and means of injecting fluid into said rotary pipe thru said pipe head.

46. A machine for building an underground wall comprising a spiral conveyor and a jet designed tooperate on the full lace of the earth material in the path of said wall, means of actuating the same simultaneously, and means of holding the same in proper relation with the material in the pathoi said wall.

47. A method of building an underground. wall comprising simultaneously removing earth material from the path 01 the wall, replacing removed earth material with a heavy mud mixture and replacing the mud mixture with wall mixture.

48. In a machine for building an underground wall, a pair of rotary pipe spiral cutters and conveyors held in parallel spaced relationship one to the other, means of rotating said rotary pipes in opposite directions, means of advancing the same in a direction transverse 01' their longitude, and a segmentally detachable shield secured to and positioned at the rear of said rotary pipes.

49. In a machine as claimed in claim 48, and side wings for said shield.

50. 'In a machine as claimed in claim 48, side wings for said shield, and resilient flaps on the edges of said winl 61. In a machine as claimed in claim 48, and

a wall material delivery pipe at therear of said shield. I 62. In a machine as claimed in claim 48, side wings on said shield, and a wall material delivery pipe at the rear of said shield.

58. In a machine as claimed in claim 48, a shield secured to and positioned at the rear of said rotary pipes, side wings on said shield, and a housing in each of said wings each adapted to hold a roll of ditch lining material therein, and a slot in each 0! said housings thru which said lining material may be unrolled out of the respective housing wherein it may be placed.

54. In a side win of a shield of the character described herein, a housing adapted to hold a roll of ditch lining material, a slot in said housing thru which ma may be unrolled out of said housing, and a nap covering for said slot.

55. In a wall material delivery pipe adapted to use to the rear oi a shield as herein described, a longitudinally extending slot in ma material delivery pipe, a worm in said pipe and means of rotating the same.

56. In a wall material delivery pipe as claimed in claim 55, and with both ends 01 said slot terminating in an enlarged opening.

57. A reinforcing bar for an underground wall, and an enlarged end portion thereof adapted to be inserted into a slotted pipe having a worm therein and to be conveyed into said wall by said worm.

58. A plate lining tor use in making an underground wall, a connecting bar attached thereto, and an enlarged portion on the end of said con-= nesting bar.

59. In an underground wall building machine wherein are suspended rotary pipes employed to cut and to raise earth material, means of advancing the bottom oi said rotary pipes independently or the advancement of the top thereof.

60. In an underground wall building machine, a wall material delivery pipe therein with its bottom end closed, a sled portion on the bottom thereof, and an inner pipe in said first mentioned pipe with opening near the lower end of said material delivery pipe first mentioned.

61. Ajmachine for building an underground wall comprising in combination, an upward conveyor and jets designed to operate up and down the face of the material in the path of the wall to loosen said materiahmeans for operating the same, and means oi keeping said jets in proper position with respect to the material in the path oi said wall to remove all or a portion of said material.

62. A method of building an underground wall, 60 continuously and in one operation, comprising removing earth material from the path of said wall, meanwhile supporting the adjacent earth by fluid pressure, and simultaneously laying said wall and confining it to the shape and dlmensions desired.

LEO RANNEY. 

